Abbas-Mustan’s foray into digital entertainment seems to be having as many twists as their thrillers do. In March 2021, the director duo’s maiden web film, tentatively titled Penthouse, was announced as a Netflix original. However, in July 2022, it was reported that the OTT giant had dropped the Bobby Deol, Arjun Rampal and Sharman Joshi-starrer from its slate of upcoming content (Bobby Deol, Arjun Rampal and Sharman Joshi’s Penthouse to be scrapped, July 2). A year-and-a-half later, there is a new plot twist. It is heard that the murder mystery’s makers are now in talks with Jio Cinema.

Penthouse—also starring Tisca Chopra, Mouni Roy and Cyrus Broacha—is an adaptation of the 2014 Hollywood movie, The Loft, which in turn was a remake of Belgian film Loft (2008). The crime thrillers revolved around five married men, who jointly own a penthouse in the city where they meet their mistresses. However, things turn ugly when a woman is discovered dead in the loft.

A source reveals, “Thrillers are Abbas-Mustan’s forte, and in the same vein, the Bobby and Arjun-starrer has been designed as a slick murder mystery. The producers have initiated talks with Jio Cinema. There is interest around the project since it is the director duo’s maiden OTT film.”

It was said that Penthouse had gone on floors as early as November 2020 and was wrapped up by 2021. Has the film been lying in the cans since then? Abbas Burmawalla rubbishes the rumours, saying, “People assumed we completed the film by 2021. But the truth is, we only began shooting from 2022 while post-production went on till this year. We had put up a huge set in 2020 [in Goregaon], but we had to dismantle it during the pandemic. We finally got to shooting only when the pandemic was over.”

Quiz him on the chatter that the murder mystery is headed to Jio Cinema, and the director says, “We have delivered the final product to the producers. We’ve heard that they took the rights back from Netflix, and are in talks with Jio Cinema currently. Now, it’s up to them when they want to release the film.”

Sources say Abbas-Mustan in the process of procuring permission from Film City to start work on Netflix series, Penthouse, by August
Uma Ramasubramanian (MID-DAY; July 15, 2020)

After the television industry, the OTT players are now taking baby steps towards resuming work. It is learnt that director duo Abbas-Mustan are in the process of procuring permission from the managing director of Maharashtra Film, Theatre and Cultural Development Corporation (Film City) to kickstart the shoot of their Netflix series, Penthouse, featuring Sharman Joshi.

A source reveals, "For the first stint, the makers want to erect a huge set of a penthouse at Filmistan in Goregaon. While the logistics have been worked out, the production house is awaiting the greenlight from Film City. The director duo is eager to begin the shoot by mid-August." The psychological thriller — which was to originally go on floors in April — marks the digital debut of the filmmakers.

When mid-day reached out to Abbas-Mustan, they remained evasive as they said, "There are many exciting things in the pipeline, but it's work in progress. Right now, it's important to focus on staying safe. The safety of our team and fellow industry members is of highest priority."